Koetsu Coralstone

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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In any any case, I always thought Koetsu's "magic" resides in the upper midrange where female vocal, violin, viola and cello harmonic sustains live. Magic happens when certain notes are hit and you know it when it feels like your soul is being pulled out through your solar plexus area LOL Yeah all of you know what I mean! LOL In our native language we have a term applied to music called "Hugot" which literally translated is "to draw emotion from within". I think all Koetsus have this quality.

I know what you mean, Jack. Aside from the 'hugot', I feel a certain 'tingle in voices and guitar tones, particularly, that sort of makes my heart sink a bit. I forgot what product commercial it was that used the word 'tingling sensation', but that is how I would describe my feelings re the Koetsu magic. :)
 

Ron Resnick

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Thank you, Jack!

Tang, which tonearm is that Coralstone on again?
 

mullard88

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Jun 5, 2010
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Reading these recent posts, I am reminded of my wonderfully rewarding analogue times with various Koetsus. Aside from what Philip and Jack posted on the regular Koetsu lines, there are the aftermarket modified Koetsus I had the privilege of owning and hearing. There was the original red with the wood body removed and the coils rewound which I sold to Philip after I had problems matching it to my then only tone arm. I also had one of the cantilevers of one of my Koetsus changed to a ruby cantilever.
 

Tango

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Thank you, Jack!

Tang, which tonearm is that Coralstone on again?

It has been on SAT. I havent move it to Axiom if thats what you thinking.

Tang
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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Reading these recent posts, I am reminded of my wonderfully rewarding analogue times with various Koetsus. Aside from what Philip and Jack posted on the regular Koetsu lines, there are the aftermarket modified Koetsus I had the privilege of owning and hearing. There was the original red with the wood body removed and the coils rewound which I sold to Philip after I had problems matching it to my then only tone arm. I also had one of the cantilevers of one of my Koetsus changed to a ruby cantilever.

Oh yes, Sam. The nude Koetsu Ken Chan version, built by Stig Bjorg of Lyra. I used it for quite some time, and the sound was really of hybrid of Koetsu and Lyra, as I felt. I was so amazed at how the ultra thin wires (many times thinner than a strand of hair) was soldered to the pins and not melt at the edge of the wire. And you also had a long body Onyx which was rebuilt by Fumihiko Sugano many years ago to virtually new condition.
 

Ron Resnick

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Jan 24, 2015
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It has been on SAT. I havent move it to Axiom if thats what you thinking.

Tang

Yes, Tang, that is what I was wondering!

That move will, I think/hope, shed some light on the traditional high effective mass requirement of Koetsu cartridges.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I know what you mean, Jack. Aside from the 'hugot', I feel a certain 'tingle in voices and guitar tones, particularly, that sort of makes my heart sink a bit. I forgot what product commercial it was that used the word 'tingling sensation', but that is how I would describe my feelings re the Koetsu magic. :)

I hope it wasn't a condom commercial Phil LOL
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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I hope it wasn't a condom commercial Phil LOL

LOL! Though it certainly can fit the hype. I found it finally, it's from a Denorex commercial. :D
 

Kcin

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Mar 27, 2016
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As a long time fan of Koetsu back in the 80s to being the country distributor in the mid 2000s, and having heard the original Sugano Black to the stone models, I should say that that question of Ron is not easy to answer. The 'old generation Koetsu were famous for the so called midrange magic. I got to hear some of my more experienced audio friends say that all they cared about was the way Koetsu sound in the mid and didn't care less about the rest. Because the truth of the matter then was that the older Koetsu were regarded as being rolled off in the highs, and a bit tubby in the bass. But the mid was just so lush and full of body, and very pleasing to the ears, specially when playing female vocals material. I for one was smitten or maybe hypnotized by the midrange magic that I used the original Black for 8 years. And then I applied for the country dealership and brought in just about the entire model line, including those with the premium diamond cantilever option.

With the new generation of Koetsus, the bodies have physical differences, although small, from shorter body lengths for the Rosewood to some minute bevel edges on the Black model. The Urushi coated bodies are now looking glorious with their new Wajima model, added to the Black Tsugaru and the Red Vermillion. The stone bodies are so beautiful I just needed them to stay in their boxes and stare at them over bright light with the top cover opened. :) I personally took a Rosewood Signature to own while selling the others. I sold 99% of the model lines without having any audition by my buyer friends. That to me, spoke about the 'Koetsu Magic', not just the midrange magic. To me, clearly, the new generation Koetsus do not have the rolled off highs and tubby bass anymore, but still, have the Koetsu midrange magic. I tested most models briefly in my system just to make sure they work before a delivery. So I got to get brief impressions of each model I heard. I can say that in all the models I tested, no 2 models sounded exactly the same, which is not surprising. There are differences in soundstage, air, refinement, tightness of bass, and other areas of consideration, and my own grouping divided the models into 2, and the border was drawn at the non-platinum models to the platinum ones. To add the icing on the cake, so to speak, the platinum ones had the option of being fitted with diamond cantilevers, at that time a $3000 add on - which was the cost of a Rosewood cartridge already. And now to finally address the question of Ron if the greater neutrality and transparency detract from the Koetsu magic, my answer is no. Amazingly, the midrange magic is always there in any models, but the difference is smaller among the stone body models, with the diamond cantilever models showing the 'best' of the Koetsu sound in that it gives out the best in mirco-detailing, speed, transients, soundstage space and air, finesse in the highs and though bass may not be the best compared with other top cartridges, the Koetsu midrange magic is still there, although compared say with the Rosewood Signature or the Urushi, it may not be as 'highlighted' in terms of a fuller bodied and lusher presentation. This is the best I can put the experience into words, but the best thing is to listen to them. :)

Hi Jadis,

It sounds like you have significant experience with Koetsu. I have my opinions, but I love my RSP I think it has some unique qualities being a combination of the Rosewood body with the Platinum motor. Do you have any direct experiences with the RSP?

Thanks!
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
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Manila, Philippines
Hi Jadis,

It sounds like you have significant experience with Koetsu. I have my opinions, but I love my RSP I think it has some unique qualities being a combination of the Rosewood body with the Platinum motor. Do you have any direct experiences with the RSP?

Thanks!

Hi Kcin,

Good to hear from a fellow Koetsu user. The Rosewood Platinum is indeed quite a unique model. It stands in between the wood neodymium models and the stone platinum models. And as a platinum model, I was told it can even be fitted with a diamond cantilever if requested. I have only heard it (non-diamond cantilever) once, in a customer's place, for a few sessions, and it struck me truly as possessing the sound qualities of the Rosewood Signature with a tad more speed, cleanliness and added bass punch. Needless to say, it possessed too the much talked about Koetsu midrange magic. The owner also used a Koetsu SUT.
 

Kcin

VIP/Donor
Mar 27, 2016
655
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275
Canada
Hi Kcin,

Good to hear from a fellow Koetsu user. The Rosewood Platinum is indeed quite a unique model. It stands in between the wood neodymium models and the stone platinum models. And as a platinum model, I was told it can even be fitted with a diamond cantilever if requested. I have only heard it (non-diamond cantilever) once, in a customer's place, for a few sessions, and it struck me truly as possessing the sound qualities of the Rosewood Signature with a tad more speed, cleanliness and added bass punch. Needless to say, it possessed too the much talked about Koetsu midrange magic. The owner also used a Koetsu SUT.

Thank you Jadis!
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,352
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Manila, Philippines

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
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Distributor told me,also the new mc trans is more open with more aire like the new generation of cartridge.
Outside is the same,the new has the trans inside encapsulated,while the old you can see well the trans

IMG_1179.JPG
IMG_1180.JPG
 

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